Back-pedaling brake.



No. 663,842. Patented Dee/I8, I900. A. n. ANTHONY & c. T. cuumus.

BACK PEDALING BRAKE.

(Applicafiion filed June 11, 1898.)

(No Model.)

No. 663.842. Patented nab. l8, |9oo..-

' A. n. ANTHONY & c. T. cuumus.

BAGK PEDALING BRAKE.

' (Applicatidn'flled June 11, 1898.) (Np Model.) 2 Sheets-:Sheet 2.

{A mmmm UNiT-nn STATES PATENT Trice.

ALFRED R. ANTHONY AND CALVIN T. CUNNIUS, OF WILKES-BARR-E, PENNSYLVANIA.

BACK-PEDALING BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 663,842, dated December 18, 1900.

Application filed June 11 1898. Serial No. 633,242, (No 5 4 1,)

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 'we, ALFRED R. ANTHONY and CALVIN T. CUNNiUs,citizens of the United States,residing at Wilkes-Barr,in the county of Luzerne and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Bicycle-Brakes, of which the following is a specification.

The object of our invention is to provide a brake for velocipedes which may be applied by the backward pressure of the pedals and in combination therewith means for disengaging the driving-sprocket from the shaft, so that the sprocket will rotate freely and permit of coasting when the shaft is held sta tionary. The entire mechanism is compact,

requiring not much more space than the ordinary sprocket-wheel, and the brake is protected from the dust and hidden from view.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate our invention, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a stationary support carrying pivoted brake-levers and mechanism for opening said levers. Fig. 2 is a central section through the driving-sprocket and brake mechanism, showing also their attachment to the crankhanger of a bicycle. Fig. 3is a side elevation of the clutch mechanism for operating the brake-shoes. Fig. 4 is a sectionon the line 4 4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a section, taken on the same line and broken away, of a modification; and Fig. 6 is a rear side view of the clutch attached to the crank and adapted to engage the driving-sprocket, the crank being broken away.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates a stationary brake-shoe support, preferably in the form of a disk, which, as shown, is secured to the crank-hanger 20f a bicycle, although it may be secured to the adjacent parts of the frame. It is provided with a central opening 3, through which the crank-shaft 4 extends. This disk, as shown in Fig. 1, has an annular projection or flange 5 upon its front face, and between this flange and the periphery of the disk a series of brake-shoes 6 is secured by means of pivot-pins 7. The flange 5, as

shown, is cut away opposite the free ends of the brake-shoes, and. the latter project inwardly through the flange. The parts 10 of the brakeshoes next the pivot-pins rest upon the flange 5, and the shoes are normally pressed inward by a spring-arm 11, arranged upon the opposite'sides of the pivot-pins and bearing upon the flange 5. The brakeshoes may be provided with friction surfaces 12, of rawhide or other suitable material, which can be renewed when worn out. The free ends of the brake-shoes are connected by links 13 to a disk 14, forming one member of a clutch 15, the other member being a disk 16, rigidly secured to the shaft within the disk 14 and having in its periphery tapering recesses 17, each recess containing a hardenedsteel ball 18. The pivotal pins of the links 13 are not arranged in radial lines; but the points of connection of said links with the disk 14 are so arranged that the links will receive a tangential thrust when the disk is rotated in the direction of the arrow,Fig. 1, and the free ends of the shoes will thereby be forced outward against the action of the springs 11. It will be understood, therefore, that when the shaft is turned backward, as indicated by the arrow, the brake-clutch 15 will operate to force the shoes outward, as shown in Fig. 4, and

when the shaft is moved in the opposite or forward direction the clutch will be disengaged and the spring-arms 11 will return the shoes to the position shown in Fig. 1.

The clutch member 14 is held upon the disk 16 by means of the link connections to the brake-shoes,as well as by the flange 14,whioh extends between the disk 16 and a disk 19, keyed or otherwise suitably secured to the shaft in front of the brake-operating clutch 15.

The sprocket-wheel 20 is arranged between the disk 1 and the crank-hub 21 upon a ballbearing 22. The inner part 23 of the wheel has a ball-bearing surface and the web 24 of the wheel extends outward between the brake-shoes when the latter are in operative position.

The annular flange 26, connected with the crank-hanger hub, is provided with tapering recesses 27 (see Fig. 6) upon its inner face, within which are arranged steel balls 30, which are adapted to engage the sprocketwheel when the cranks are turned in the forward di rection,so as to carry the wheel around with the crank and to become disengaged from the sprocket Wheel when the crank movement is stopped or reversed. The enent from the drawings and the above description. Briefly stated, the action is as follows: When the cranks are moved to propel the bicyclein the forward direction, the clutch upon the crank-hub engages the sprocket-wheel and drives it forward, while the clutch 15 remains outof engagement and the brake-shoes are therefore in the position shown in Fig. 1. When the motion of the pedals is stopped, the clutch 15 still remains out of engagement and the clutch upon the crank-hub will also be disengaged, allowing the sprocket-wheel to be turned freely on its bearings by the movement of the chain, so as to permit of coast ing, and when a slight backward movement is given to the pedals the clutch 15 immediately comes into operation and the brakeshoes are pressed against the sprocket-wheel, so as to retard or stop the motion of the bicycle.

In Fig. 5 we have illustrated a modification of the brake apparatus in which the brake shoes 30 are mounted upon the ends of radial rods 31, which are supported in guides 32, secured to the stationary disk 1. Each of these shoes is normally held out of engagement with the bearing-surface upon the sprocketwheel by means of a compression-spring 33, interposed between one of the guides 32 and a nut or stop 34; upon the rod 31. connecting the brake-shoes to the outer member 14 of the brake-clutch by means of links,

as in the form of our invention previously described, we construct said member with a series of cam-surfaces 35 upon its periphery, the number of such surfaces corresponding to the number of brake-shoes employed, and

Instead of these cam-surfaces are arranged to force outwardly the rods 31, carrying the shoes 30, when the crank-shaft is turned backward and to release said rods when the shaft is again turned in the forward direction, as will be apparent from an inspection of the drawings.

The stationary brake-shoe support and the web of the sprocketwheel are preferably made continuous, so as to exclude dust, instead of being open or scroll-like, as is usual in sprocket-wheels.

We do not vwish to confine ourselves to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it will be obvious that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of our invention.

What we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In an automatic bicycle-brake, the combination with a bicycle crank-hanger, of a crank-shaft, a sprocket-wheel surrounding said shaft and having a laterally-projecting flange on one face, a plate or support secured to the crank-hanger adjacent to the flanged face of the sprocket, brake-shoes pivoted to said plate or support and lying in the planes of the flange on the sprocket, a clutch adapted to connect the crank-shaft and sprocket when the shaft is rotated in the forward direction, and another clutch adapted to connect the crank-shaft with means for rocking the brake shoes about their pivots and forcing them against the flange on the sprocket when the shaft is moved in the rearward direction.

2. In combination a supporting-disk fixed to the frame of a bicycle, and having an annular flange near its periphery, brake-shoes pivoted to said disk between the flange and periphery and having spring-arms resting upon said flange, a crank-shaft, a clutch, one member of which is secured to the shaft, the other member being connected to the brakeshoes, a sprocket-wheel journaled upon the shaft and having a flange on its periphery overhanging said brake-shoes and contiguous to said disk and a clutch for connecting the sprocket-wheel and shaft, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED R. ANTHONY. CALVIN T. CUNNIUS. Witnesses:

W. S. P soNs, W. L. PARSONS. 

